After all, the Falcons won the league championship a year ago, and nine of the players on that squad were returning this season to make another run at it.

And run they did. The Falcons ran away with the El Camino Division crown, outscoring opponents 157-92 en route to a 16-2 season record.

"The most exciting part was that so many different players excelled in clutch situations," said Berman. "More than anything else, this team's hunger and ability to compete in tight situations were what put us over the top."

Saratoga certainly had its share of tight spots in the league race.

"We had a number of close games with seven of our 18 league contests settled by two runs or less," said the coach. "We won all seven of those games."

The Falcons ended up matching their 16-2 league record of the year before and finished the season 16-6 overall.

"Our pitchers did an unbelievable job of keeping us in games, giving us the chance to win at any time," added Berman.

The staff had a combined earned run average of 3.47 and allowed just 101 hits in league play.

Kevin Sieczkarek was the ace of the Saratoga mound corps, posting a 5-0 record with a 2.16 ERA. He struck out 19 batters in 22 2/3 innings.

Bo Nielson and Connor Grega were each 3-0 for the year. Nielson fanned 17 in 17 2/3 innings and notched a low 2.38 ERA, and Grega Connor had an even lower 1.58 ERA with 11 strike-outs in 17 2/3 innings.

Blake Paisley finished up with a 1-0 record and a 1.27 ERA in 22 innings pitched.

"Our offense, with six players with 10 or more RBIs and eight players with 10 or more runs scored, was both well-balanced and explosive," said Berman. "No one hit the ball nearly as hard as we did ... not even close."

Saratoga had a team batting average of .289, and boasted a combined slugging percentage of .362 and on base average of .416. The Falcons ripped 150 hits in league play and average 8.7 runs per game.

Joey Pollard-Vithanage was the team leader with a .396 batting average, 20 runs-batted-in and 21 hits. He shared the team lead in doubles with Matt Keating, each one ripping five.

Sean Casserly finished hitting at a .372 clip and top the club with a .512 slugging percentage and .491 on base average, and Taylor Dere and Michael Leonardi tied for team lead with 21 runs scored each.

Freshman Michael Leonardi hit .356 with a .422 slugging percentage and .456 on base average, Bennett Rothenberg hit .324 with a .432 slugging percentage and .468 on base average.

Saratoga did more than hit and pitch, though.

"It was almost unfair how solid our defense up the middle was (Dere in center field, Nielson at shortstop, Sieczkarek at shortstop or second base and Keating at catcher)," said the coach.

Nielson, sophomore pitcher/shortstop, was honored with the league's Most Valuable Player award at the season's end. Winning all-league first team honors in the El Camino Division were Pollard-Vithanage, a sophomore infielder; Casserly, a sophomore infielder/outfielder; Dere, a sophomore outfielder; Sieczkarek, a sophomore pitcher/infielder; and Leonardi, a freshman outfielder.

Claiming spots on the all-league second team were Rothenberg, a sophomore catcher/designated hitter; Keating, a freshman catcher; Grega, a sophomore pitcher; and Paisley, a freshman pitcher.

Nielson and Sieczkarek were selected as the team's co-MVPs.

Rounding out the championship team were Spencer Thomas, Brendan Hellar, Kyle Cianchette, Spencer Sutterlin, Kyle Guengerich, Eric Bruner, Robert Thompson, Myles Hornberger, Brantley Berryhill, Tommy Christian and Brendan Scolari.

Berman was assisted by coaches Vince Boyanich, Chris Lohman and Frank Carey.